So maybe the sushi didn’t come to me quite like this picture shows, but I love Minori anyway.

Last Saturday I took a date to Minori, which is located on Robertson, just above Pico, in Los Angeles. We arrived around 8 p.m. The sushi bar was full, but there were two open tables at the time.

Here’s what I love about Minori: First, it’s kind of a hole in the wall. I’m not saying it doesn’t get busy, but it is mostly populated by local folks who know the lay of the land. Second, Minori consistently has great specials. I recommend any special that they have that involves tempura. Their tempura is always delicious. I had the blue crab hand roll special. It’s on the menu most of the time when I go. If you haven’t tried blue crab, you are really missing out. Very light. Very fresh. Did I just do a Summer’s Eve commercial? Third, the price is always right for a cheap asshole like myself. We ordered 3 cut rolls, two hand rolls, and a large sake, and the total with tip was only $55. There aren’t a lot of restaurants in LA where you can pull that off, let alone sushi spots.

Here’s what I don’t like about Minori: The service usually sucks. The waiters are inattentive, often missing portions of the order, and rarely stop by to see if you need anything. So, make sure you order everything you want right off the bat because they ain’t comin’ back. Also, the place is sometimes dirty. Last time I went, there was some debris, which looked like straw wrappers, all over the floor. In addition, sometimes they are understaffed in terms of sushi chefs. End result…it takes forever to get your food. Finally, the parking sucks. Period. Hope for metered parking on Robertson or Pico after you don’t have to feed the meters at night.

Today was free Southern Chicken Sandwich day at McDonald’s. Although I had no idea what the quality of the sandwich would be like, the price was right for me (I look forward to more comments from readers about what a cheap asshole I am). So, I hit the Crackdonald’s in Downtown, Los Angeles for a little lunch.

The sandwich looks like this:

It’s basically a filet-o-fish without the fish, cheese, and sauce, oh, and with pickly things. Helpful, right? What I mean is that the sandwich is little more than the same bun, a breaded chicken breast, and three items that McDonald’s represents are pickles. I gotta’ say, there are few things more simple and tasty than that McDonald’s bun. As you sink your teeth in, you can taste the fact that there is nothing nutritiously redeeming about it. The chicken was pretty tasty too. It was all white meat, unlike the old school mcnuggets from when I was a kid that clearly were made from alternative protein sources. My brother and I used to break them open before eating them because there were always two types. There were the ones that were white inside that tasted closest to chicken. Then there were the ones that were a different texture and sort of brownish. We never ate those. You should probably consult your doctor if you did.

Back to the sandmich . . . it wasn’t greasy at all, which surprised me. I could have done without the pickles. They were pretty soft and gross. But if you like the ones on the other Mckie D burgers, then you’ll be fine with these because I’m pretty certain that they are the same.

All in all, I enjoyed the sandwich and would eat it again, but not for the almost $3 they charge on days that it is not free. It belongs on the dollar menu. And it needs a little more kick, perhaps from a sauce. Unless the word “Southern” in the sandwich’s title means bland and boring, the sandwich needs some spice. But in a pinch, you’re going to be okay with this one.

The Southern Chicken Sandwich at McDonald’s . . . I did it . . . and you should have too when it was free!

I was really excited for This American Life Live from New York. I waited too long to get tickets in West L.A. so we had to travel all the way to Burbank to partake in the experience. We left work early and made the trek from Venice to Burbank. Google’s estimates on this are so LA. 30 minutes – however up to 2 hours in traffic. Thankfully we escaped with a life charge of 1 hour. You’re luck my wife loves you Ira Glass

We got to the theater early and were captivated, because for about an hour they showed people being seated in the NYC theater. I felt a little bad for the New Yorkers, all bundled up in coats, its freakin may people get a grip its hot outside- oh yeah – not for you- greatest city in the world my ass. I’m sure it was great waiting outside the theater to get the prime seats. I’m also sure that it was a thrill to hear the phrase “all the way to the front people” uttered by the ushers. You could see the heartbreak on the faces as they released their death grips from the prime middle of the house seats and defeated made their way all the way to the front. Enjoy…

Back in L.A., I mean Burbank, my wife and i had staked out the prime middle seats. 15 minutes before the show and only one dude was sitting one seat away from my wife. But then of course, tragedy happened. And you have to understand, I Need My Space Bubble. When i go to the movies the usual buffer is 2 seats in either direction- it took me two years to break that down to one with my wife, and only recently have we actually started sitting side by side. Cue up the retarded blond and her friend. Mind you – the theater is 99% empty at this point. And there they are closer closer- ASS IN CHAIR, Bam direct right, and arm contact. I will need to wash this arm for days- who knows what this slut has. The show now officially sucks. My desire to watch the show did somehow overcome the rape of my space bubble. (It should be a freakin crime- Vince get on that!!).

Some people have described the Fog of War, well today i saw the Fog of Liberals as they ooozed their blue state liberal asses into the theater seats and mumbled their hatred of everything American. Don’t get me wrong i consider myself a liberal, but that theater was filled with uber liberals- i was tempted to call the CIA. In fact I think if the CIA would have been doing their job right, there would have been a choreographed terrorist attack on every theatre (yes i just spelled it theatre) that was showing this.

The warm up for the show is about 1000 hang man puzzles about Mathew Mconoghey- (I’m not going to take the time to spell this Texas ass-holes name right) It was fun for about a minute or so.
And the show beings….

The pieces were for the most part terrific. I don’t want to give too much away because im sure it will be available. The topics are:

1. Horse Riding in NY.

2. Couples stories: and how we remember things in such interesting ways.

3. The Iraq war: with a real Iraqi, (a good piece but depressing overall because it shows how little Americans really think and question whats told to them.

4. Kid Comedians: which i felt ill to see but ended up being pretty good. Most of the kids had the confidence of beaten kittens.

5. Dental Floss and Prison Escapes: thats all there is to say.

6. 12 Year Old Porno Script: the 12 year old has an interesting take on sex.

Even with the Liberal Ooze the show was great. The Iron Man crowd was leaving at the same time we were and I really thought they were going to kick our ass just for the hell of it.